Frenzy Barbarian
Frenzy Barbarians are one of the lesser-known builds for this tank of a character. These warriors utilize two weapons at once and swing them with much power. Specializing in Frenzy means dual-wielding weapons, attacking and moving really quickly, and doing heavy damage to every enemy within arm's reach. Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages *Works like the Paladin's Zeal in how it attacks multiple enemies. *Potentially a lot of damage can be dealt. *Movement, damage and attack speed increase with every swing. Disadvantages *Dueling isn't very easy. *Can not hit as many nearby enemies as, say, Whirlwind. *Such a fast movement speed is hard to control. *No natural counter for Physical Immunes. A point in Berserk however will counter this problem quite effectively. Stat Point Distribution Strength: Enough to wear endgame gear. Calculate this amount ahead of time. Dexterity: Enough to equip gear. Vitality: Pretty much everything else. Energy: No. Skill Point Distribution Focused Skills Considerations for a twenty point allocation of skill points [[Frenzy|'Frenzy']]: Self-explanatory. [[Double Swing|'Double Swing']]: Synergy to Frenzy and costs no mana to use at higher levels, making for a free speedy attack for leeching. [[Taunt|'Taunt']]: Pulls ranged attackers closer, hinders them, synergizes with Frenzy. [[Weapon Mastery|'Weapon Mastery']]: The only skill that will boost Frenzy's damage directly. Choose a weapon type first, obviously. [[Battle Orders|'Battle Orders']]: More health and mana is a good thing. A staple skill to any Barbarian. [[Shout|'Shout']]: More defense, less damage. Other skills Note: The following skills require only one point to be utilized. [[Increased Speed|'Increased Speed']]: This is entirely optional, but whole-heartedly useful. [[Natural Resistance|'Natural Resistance']]: More resistance, less damage. Has diminishing returns, so 1-3 points should be adequate. [[Iron Skin|'Iron Skin']]: See Shout. [[Battle Command|'Battle Command']]: Raises the party's skill levels by one. [[Berserk|'Berserk']]: Usually reserved for physical immunes as the damage from this skill is entirely magic damage. 150% damage gives it enough power to kill. Very useful in act 4 Sanctuary. [[Battle Cry|'Battle Cry']]: Drops an opponent's base defense rating by 50%. Useful in situations where a monster seems difficult to hit. Can be removed with some other curse or a magic well. Total Skill Point Allocation *20 Frenzy *20 Double Swing *20 Taunt *20 Weapon Mastery *20 Battle Orders *20 Shout *1 Battle Command *1 Increased Speed *1 Iron Skin *1 Natural Resistance *1 Bash *1 Howl *1 Double Throw 127 Total Skills 4 Total Pre-Requisites End Result: 131 Skill Point Total (Impossible to achieve. See below.) Being impossible to max everything you need, you must cut two skills out of the list. Choose between maxing out or balancing Double Swing or Taunt. Also between maxing out or balancing Battle Orders or Shout. Equipment 'Weapon One' *Breath of the Dying: Highest enhanced damage in the game, most popularly used with an ethereal Berserker Axe *Beast: High attack speed, Fanaticism aura, crushing blow and open wounds modifiers. *Doom: Skill boost, cold damage, Holy Freeze aura, deadly strike and open wounds modifiers *Last Wish: Life Tap proc, crushing blow, Might aura. *Fury: Boost to Frenzy, open wounds and deadly strike. *Stormlash: Crushing Blow, Static Field proc. 'Weapon Two' Pick one of the above, although it is not recommended use the same weapon as the properties, particularly the auras on many of these weapons would be redundant. 'Armor' *Fortitude: 300% Enhanced Damage *Chains of Honor: +2 to all skills and varying damage bonuses. *Enigma: +2 to all skills, Teleport and level-dependent magic find. 'Helm' *Arreat's Face: the helmet of choice due to its faster hit recovery, resistance and skill bonuses. *Guillaume's Face: The boost to crushing blow and deadly strike makes this helmet an alternative. 'Gloves' *Steelrend: Enhanced damage and crushing blow *Soul Drainer: Dual leech and reduces monster defense per hit. *Dracul's Grasp: Life leech, open wounds, strength bonus and Life Tap. *Laying of Hands: Massive enhanced damage versus demons and fire resist. 'Boots' *Gore Rider: Crushing blow, open wounds and deadly strike modifiers. Goblin Toe's big brother. *Marrowwalk: These boots have Life Tap charges. Useful if the character is missing Dracul's Grasp or Last Wish. 'Belt' *Verdungo's *Thundergod's Vigor 'Amulet' *Highlord's Wrath for more attack speed and the Deadly Strike option; *Mara's for more skills/resists. 'Rings' *Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band *Raven Frost. 'Charms' The 'Fine Small Charms of Vitality' yield +20 attack rating, +20 life and +3 to maximum damage. Other great charms are Hellfire Torch, Annihilus, +1 to Warcries Grand Charms or +1 to Masteries. Additional charms with +life will also do. Combat Charms, although attractive looking, add only 7% Attack Rating and 3% extra damage, so one could trade those to a build that would benefit more from them. Resistance charms can also be a consideration. Tips and Tricks *Watch for Physical Immunes. *Stack your Crushing Blow, Critical Strike and Open Wound mods. *Life steal will make Frenzy Barbs more resilient. Dracul’s Grasp and Last Wish are popular for their Life Tap proc. *If you can get more attack rating without sacrificing other more essential stats, never shy from doing so. Player vs. Player Dueling is difficult as a Frenzy Barb because you have to get close to your enemy and physically attack them first, one swing at a time. The only way that is notably simple to duel as a frenzy barb is to frenzy on monsters in the wilderness ahead of time to build up damage and attack speed. Enjoy your Frenzy Barbarian!